Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The state-run bus company, Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO), on Sunday grounded its fleet in Kariba in a move allegedly aimed at disrupting the movement of people to a CCC “Thank You” rally that was held at Nyamhunga Stadium in the resort town.
The rally was addressed by CCC leader Nelson Chamisa who usually attracts huge crowds at his meetings.
ZUPCO services for buses coming to Kariba over the past two days were also affected.
A Kariba resident, Panashe Kondowe, told NewsDay that he was forced to walk from Mahombekombe high-density suburb to Nyamhunga Stadium for the rally.
On Saturday, football fans were also forced to walk to the stadium to watch a Castle Lager Premier Soccer League match pitting ZPC Kariba and Dynamos. Said Kondowe:
We cannot suffer because some people feared CCC supporters might attend a rally today (yesterday). That is a child mentality.
However, ZUPCO Kariba operations manager Paul Karemba denied the claims, citing a shortage of fuel as the reason for the suspension of services. He said:
It is unfortunate that people think evil of us, but the truth is we did not have enough fuel to cover all areas for the past two days. There is nothing I can do because it is a national problem.
CCC has in the past accused the State of using its institutions to either block or disrupt its political activities across the country.
Since its launch in January 2022, CCC has been prohibited from holding rallies by the police on numerous occasions.
In instances when the police have approved CCC’s gatherings, numerous roadblocks have been mounted on roads leading to the venues for the rallies thereby disrupting the flow movement of both vehicular and human traffic.
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